What is a health and safety audit?
Clients often ask us how to conduct an effective health and safety audit. To manage health and safety effectively, you must monitor your systems to ensure controls actually work. Monitoring serves as a vital “pulse check” to confirm things are operating as intended, whether through formal audits, inspections, or simple floor walks.
The Inspection Process
Inspections verify that your compliance requirements and critical risk controls are active and effective. This regular internal process identifies opportunities for improvement. A word of caution: if your inspection is merely a series of checkboxes, it is likely time to review your process.
The Audit
An audit goes deeper. It evaluates your Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) system—including policies and procedures—against applicable standards and regulations.
Crucially, an audit provides an independent, external perspective. For an organization’s “officers,” the audit serves as a critical tool for fulfilling the due diligence required by law.
Why Audit and Inspection Matter
Ultimately, it comes down to one word: assurance. Our team performs audits and inspections not only to identify improvements but also to deliver the specific assurance you need to maintain a safer, more compliant workplace.
As a result, these audits provide every level of your organization with the confidence that health and safety is under control—thereby ensuring compliance, a safe environment, and a robust safety culture.
Our Approach to Health and Safety Audits
To achieve this, we utilize recognized standards while simultaneously customizing every audit to align with your organization’s unique features. Furthermore, our process integrates standard audit tools built directly into the Winsland Health and Safety App, which evaluates both compliance and critical risk controls.
In addition, for larger organizations or those pursuing ISO or ACC certification, we base our audits on recognized international standards such as AS/NZS 4801 or ISO 45001.
Case Study: Due Diligence Audits
This was a case where professional receivers took over a failed Auckland based construction company. Consequently, they became the PCBU and assumed responsibility for several large building sites across Auckland from Kumeu to East Tamaki. To fulfill their due diligence obligations, the receivers required absolute assurance that the sites were managed safely.
However, these sites presented significant challenges, such as:
- Structural Integrity: Buildings were left partially completed.
- Communication Barriers: Many workers did not speak English.
- Regulatory Gaps: Few workers had trained under New Zealand regulations.
Due to these factors, the project faced an elevated level of risk and complexity. This required a pragmatic approach with a sharp focus on critical risks. Over the following months, Winsland provided the necessary expertise to navigate these issues while the work was completed.
The Results
Consequently, the partnership achieved the following outcomes:
Due Diligence: Ultimately, the receivers discharged their duties with total confidence that health and safety was effectively managed.
Compliance: All contractors met NZ health and safety requirements.
Safety: Moreover, the project reached completion without a single serious harm event.